MONTAGUE — The 54-year-old Greenfield man who died while boating on the Connecticut River on Saturday has been identified as Norman Plausky, the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office announced Monday.
According to DA’s office spokesperson Laurie Loisel, Plausky is believed to have suffered a medical emergency while driving the boat, leading his boat to run ashore on the Montague side of the river near the French King Bridge. An exact cause of death is still under investigation, but Loisel said Plausky was alone on the boat at the time of the incident.
First responders with the Gill Police and Fire departments, the Turners Falls Fire Department, Massachusetts Environmental Police and the Crime Scenes Services Section of Massachusetts State Police responded after 911 calls came in from other boaters who observed the seemingly unoccupied boat with the engine still running.
Eyewitnesses on the FirstLight Hydro Generating Co. Heritage riverboat, which was finishing an educational cruise with roughly 40 passengers, say that as they were traveling north toward the Northfield Mountain Recreation and Environmental Center, crew members and passengers saw the boat still running, but they could not see an operator.
Richard Little, who was leading an educational discussion about the geology of the river on the Heritage riverboat, said they pulled closer to Plausky’s boat, a Boston Whaler, and members of the crew spotted him lying on the deck of the boat. The crew called 911 and Northfield Mountain to report the incident, and he said a crew member attempted CPR before law enforcement arrived. Two other jet skiers also came to assist, Little said.
“We’re there with 40 people watching it all happen and we were obviously so shocked,” Little said.
Penny Martineau, a passenger on the Heritage riverboat, said she did not recall seeing Plausky’s boat while the Heritage riverboat was traveling south toward Barton Cove in Gill. The passengers and crew on the riverboat discovered Plausky’s boat as their trip was wrapping up at around 2:30 p.m.
The Turners Falls Fire Department released a statement on Facebook regarding the event, sharing their condolences with Plausky’s family members and friends, and thanking those who dialed 911.
“Their efforts exemplified the meaning of ‘see something, say something,'” the post reads.
FirstLight Communications Manager Claire Belanger said Monday that the company is “deeply saddened” to learn of Plausky’s death.
“This weekend, FirstLight’s crew on the Heritage riverboat assisted with an emergency involving a fellow boater on the Connecticut River,” Belanger’s statement reads. “Our team at FirstLight is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the individual, and thanks the first responders and FirstLight team members who stepped in during the emergency.”